All praise is due to Allah ﷻ, Lord of the worlds and May his peace and blessings be upon His final Prophet and Messenger, Muhammad ﷺ.

“Hey! Guess what? I’m going for Hajj!” Khadijah exclaimed. “O. M. G! You are so lucky! Keep me in your du’aas and have lots of fun!” Ruqayyah said with a tinge of envy. “Of course! I’m going to have Kudu’s, HALAAL McDonalds, KFC, Baskin Robbins and the list goes on and on. I just can’t wait!”

This little conversation may sound familiar to you. It is almost on the lips of every young person travelling for the holy pilgrimage to the house of Allah ﷻ.

The invitation to the Ka’bah (house of Allah ﷻ) is only granted to a few chosen ones. A special kind of invitation from the Lord of the worlds, Allah ﷻ. He calls to His house whom He wills and grants them permission to join millions in worshipping Him and gaining closeness to Him. How fortunate are such people?!

Despite the many sins committed and the neglect of the most merciful Lord, Allah ﷻ still chooses them to come and worship Him. To come, change and gain closeness to Him. To come and become a better person. He opens His doors so that they may come to Him and submit themselves to Him. Yes! For that one Hajj, these people are the chosen ones.

Yet sadly, most do not realise how fortunate they are to be granted such an opportunity. To them this is a time to worship Allah ﷻ and then come back to reality which is to go on with life as if the time spent in worshipping Allah ﷻ was just a dream.

The holy pilgrimage is NOT a season of piety. The preparation for it is the same as one would prepare for a job interview. For every spare minute that the interviewee finds, he or she will study and research for the job at hand in order to succeed. They will try their utmost best so that the interviewer is impressed. In the same way, the spiritual preparation of going for Hajj is to start the change within yourself beforehand. Knowing that you are going to the house of Allah ﷻ, where you are invited as a guest, to please Him. It is a continuous process of building and strengthening one’s Imaan (faith).

It is not just about completing one of the Faraa’idh (Obligations) of the five pillars of Islaam because one has the means to do so.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has said:

“Whoever performs Hajj for the Pleasure of Allah and therein utters no word of evil, nor commits any evil deed, shall return from it (free from sin) as the day on which his mother gave birth to him.”

(Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim)

From the Hadeeth above, we understand that the Hajj should be performed solely for the pleasure of Allah ﷻ. It should not be done for show nor for a title. It should be performed in such a manner that one leaves from the house of Allah ﷻ free of sin.

Lastly, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has said:

“Verily there shall be no reward for a Mabroor (Accepted) Hajj except Jannah.”

(Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim)

This hadeeth begs the question, what is an “accepted Hajj”? Is it to have gone to Makkah and Madinah and completed your Hajj? Or is it to have gone for the holy pilgrimage and come back with the “Haji” title?

As you may have very well guessed, the answer is none of the above. The signs of an accepted Hajj are in the manner of one’s speech, in their dress code, in their times of worship, in their behaviour towards others, in their daily routine, in their acts of Sunnah, in their recitation of the holy Qur’aan, above all in the acceptance of the commandments of Allah ﷻ.

So, in conclusion, this holy pilgrimage will be accepted in the sight of Allah ﷻ when one returns from Hajj and has changed their life around. They are inclined towards good and refrain from evil. Their life becomes filled with taqwah (fear of Allah ﷻ) and gratitude towards Allah ﷻ. Their dress code changes in accordance to the Shari’ah (Islamic law). They become punctual in their Salaah and reciting the holy Qur’aan. They adopt the Sunnah as the way of life. They worry more about their hereafter than their worldly status. They fulfil the rights of the Creator and the creation. They live their life in accordance to the kalimah, La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah and this is what ultimately will lead a believer into Jannah, Insha Allah.

I pray that Allah ﷻ accepts the Hajj of all the pilgrims and may He bless them and make their spiritual journey a fruitful one. Ameen.

All praise is due to Allah ﷻ at the beginning and at the end.

May you be rewarded for visiting my page and may we all benefit. Ameen.